Chapter 6 #2
“You’re…you’re Henry Summers.” Dani gapes at him in shock, approaching slowly.
So much for playing it cool. She looks like a goldfish out of water, her mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out.
Behind Henry’s head I pantomime for Dani to cut it out, but she doesn’t see me.
She’s too busy staring at Henry in wide-eyed wonder.
For once she seems to have lost all her words.
“Ah, yes. Yes, I am.” Henry sticks his hand out and Dani mutely shakes it. “And you are?” he asks politely. His manners are very genteel.
“Officer Dani Diaz,” she murmurs. She cuts a glance in my direction, her eyebrows raised almost to her hairline. I shrug, just as baffled as she is that Henry Summers is standing in our shop.
Seeing one of his favorite people on earth and the source of all his contraband treats, Mr. Butters waddles over to Dani and puts his paw on her knee, waiting for a doggy pot pie.
“What brings you to our little town?” Dani asks, recovering a little.
“Are you doing a segment on the best small towns in America? Because you totally should feature Poulsbo.” Without looking down, she takes a doggy pot pie from her pocket and drops it straight down into Mr. Butters’s waiting open mouth.
Then she glances down and sees the cap. “He looks like an extra from Newsies,” she observes.
Mr. Butters is unperturbed. He chomps his treat with relish and waddles back to his bed to curl up and nap.
Henry chuckles. He has a nice laugh. “This town is very charming, but no, I’m not filming here.
I’m here for personal reasons.” He glances in my direction, thoughtfully including me in the conversation.
“I’m renting a beach cottage just outside of town.
I’m taking the summer here to try and finish a long-overdue food memoir.
” He looks a little rueful at the admission.
I think Dani is going to swoon, but she recovers enough to offer a squeaky “Is that so?” She cuts her eyes to me.
“We’ll see how much writing I actually get done,” Henry says with a self-deprecating grimace. “You’ll probably see quite a bit of me around town this summer. I’m very good at procrastinating.”
“Emmie should show you around, since you’re going to be in town for a while,” Dani says in the most unsmooth segue I’ve ever heard. “She knows everyone here—all the good places to go, and which ones to avoid.”
I open my mouth to protest, but instead squeak out a high-pitched “Happy to be of service!” And then I just stand there grinning like a ninny.
Henry shoots me a polite smile. “That’s a generous offer,” he says. “I might take you up on it, once I’m settled. Thank you, Emmie.”
I like how my name sounds in his mouth. All crisp vowels, like a forkful of lemon tart.
“Of course. Anytime,” I tell him, smiling in what I hope is a casual, friendly way.
I’m trying to play it cool, as though I’m unaffected by this gorgeous, famous man who has just shown up in real life after appearing in my vision with a ring box in his hand.
Am I looking at my future husband? I give a jaunty little wave as he turns to the door.
My hand is shaking. I tuck it behind my back.
“Good to meet you both,” Henry says over his shoulder. “Thank you for the delicious caramels, Emmie.”
And then he is gone. I place my trembling hands on the counter and try to remember how to draw a full breath. I feel like I’ve just run a marathon. My legs are as wobbly as cooked noodles.
“Henry Summers was just standing right there,” I say faintly as soon as the door shuts behind him. I stare at the spot on the carpet where Henry was a moment ago. I feel dazed.
Dani rushes around the counter to where I’m standing behind the register and grabs me by the shoulders so hard she pinches a nerve in my neck. “Henry Summers is here IN REAL LIFE,” she shrieks, giving me a little shake.
I nod. “I know. I gave him one of my caramels and he tried it and groaned. A good groan,” I add quickly. It may be the highlight of my life, that groan. I’m going to be replaying it in my head for the next…oh, decade, probably. Maybe more.
Dani is staring at me, eyes wide in wonder. “Emmie, Henry Summers is going to be here all summer.”
I nod, too amazed to really know what to say.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Dani asks portentously.
“What?” I shake my head. I’m still reeling from this unexpected encounter with my celebrity crush.
“Your vision might actually be real,” Dani whispers urgently. “Think about it. What if what you saw wasn’t just wishful thinking?” Her voice drops to an awed hush. “What if it could really come true?” She clasps her hands in front of her in anticipation.
I close my eyes and replay the vision once more—the dress like sunshine, my happy tears, Henry on one knee with the red box in his outstretched hand.
I feel again the brush of his lips against my cheek, the tantalizing hint of bergamot.
When I open my eyes, I wonder if I was too hasty to dismiss what I saw the night of my birthday.
I thought that vision was nothing more than wishful thinking, but what if I was wrong?
What if I saw something that could actually, improbably, come true?
My heart swells with hope like a helium balloon, getting bigger and bigger.
It almost makes me afraid how suddenly full of anticipation I am.
“What if it wasn’t a mistake?” I whisper, staring after Henry and hardly daring to hope. Could it be that the vision I saw might actually be possible after all?
“Call Dot and Gwen,” Dani demands. “We need to have an emergency meeting. This changes everything.”